Researchers are making strides toward using blood testing to predict dementia risks nearly a decade before the onset of symptoms after promising results from a study published Monday in the academic journal Nature Aging.
Scientists affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai report having discovered four specific proteins in blood plasma associated with greater risks for both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, or cognitive decline due to blood vessel changes in the brain. The findings come from an examination of nearly 53,000 patients in the UK Biobank database over a 14-year period. From this sample, over 1,400 went on to develop dementia as they aged.
In particular, the authors said the GFAP protein was the “most optimal biomarker for dementia prediction, even more than 10 years before the diagnosis, with implications for screening people at high risk for dementia and for early intervention.”
Individuals with higher GFAP levels, which are associated with inflammation in the brain, were over twice as likely to develop dementia. This correlation became even more pronounced when overlapped with other demographic characteristics, such as sex and race.
Another protein, called NEFL, is associated with nerve fiber damage, and higher than normal levels of GDF15 can occur after damage to blood vessels in the brain.
More than 55 million people globally have dementia, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO estimates that dementia costs economies worldwide approximately $1.3 trillion and is the seventh leading cause of death.
In the United States, it is estimated that almost 10% of adults over 65 have dementia and 22% more have mild cognitive impairment. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that over 6 million people in America have the disease, with the number of older people with Alzheimer’s projected to grow at current trajectories to nearly 13 million by 2050.
The disease has no cure, but the pharmaceutical industry is making advancements in possible treatments.
In July, the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi, the list price of which is $26,500. For patients on Medicare or Medicaid, however, treatment is estimated to cost taxpayers an average of $82,500 per patient per year to account for genetic testing as well as safety monitoring.
Sheona Scales, the director of Alzheimer’s Research UK, told the Guardian that although tests for the disease like those from Monday’s study “show promise,” a product like this will need to go through rigorous regulatory testing before being used in a hospital setting.
